


The Real Thing

by greyone01



Series: Damerey Week 2018 [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: DameRey, Damerey Week, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, Jakku, JediPilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 22:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyone01/pseuds/greyone01
Summary: Poe and Rey are back in Jakku, on official Resistance business. Neither were happy to be back at the desert planet, but sometimes, going back is the only way of moving forward.Day 7 of Damerey Week 2018





	The Real Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Damerey Week Day 7 prompt: free day

The night desert breeze was chilly, almost cold. It was a welcome respite from the scorching temperature during the day, but it still made Commander Poe Dameron pull his jacket tighter around himself. The ocean of sand before him stretched into seemingly unending blackness. It oddly comforted him. He leaned back against the metal shell of the fallen AT-AT and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the sand. Resting his arms on his drawn up knees, he sat in silence, still as a statue, and stared out into the darkness before him.

He was stuck in Jakku. As it was almost three years ago, General Leia Organa dispatched her most trusted officer once again to the Outer Rim planet. Apparently, the missing map fragment was not the only secret Lor San Tekka kept. Resistance intelligence recently discovered that the old man had hidden a cache of Jedi texts in one of the chambers of Jakku’s extensive maze of underground burrows. Unfortunately, before these texts could be removed and brought back to base, the Resistance agent was captured and killed by Unkar’s thugs, only managing to send a rushed message to the Resistance before he was taken away.

Poe had the distinction of being one of the three people on base of having (barely) survived Jakku, and perhaps the one person who’s earned the General’s unwavering faith. It was not surprising to anyone when he given his orders to go back to Jakku to retrieve the texts. Likewise, the General’s choice of who went with him did not surprise anybody – the woman who knew Jakku the best, and who will have the most use for the Jedi texts: Rey of Jakku.

Knowing Poe’s misgivings about her home planet, Rey tried to get the General to let her just go on her own. But Leia wouldn’t hear any of it – Rey was far too valuable to be sent to a risky solo mission. Poe quickly sided with Leia when he heard of what Rey wanted to do. His misgivings about Jakku were precisely the reason why he readily agreed to go back with Rey. He knew she was more than capable of fending for herself, but that it certainly wouldn’t hurt if she came with some reinforcements.

Furthermore, it was obvious to everyone how the pilot and the girl from Jakku shared a special relationship. Right from the start, the two seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other. She was reserved and almost aloof to most, visibly only being more at ease whenever he’s by her side. He was carefree and had a devil-may-care attitude to practically everything and everyone, but he was calmer and more grounded around her. The sight of them together on base, or one waiting at the hangar for the other who was coming back from deployment quickly became a familiar picture. No one was surprised to see them exchange more affectionate gestures as time went on; it would’ve been more astonishing not to see it.

And so, off they went, the pilot and the former Jakku scavenger, with Finn amicably being vocal about them going back to Jakku. Fate seemed determined to prove him right, because the moment their ship landed on the desert sands near Rey’s old dwelling, it did not take long for things to start unraveling. They found the texts easily enough, and Rey’s knowledge of how Plutt and his thugs worked proving to be helpful in dodging them. Then the sandstorm happened, practically almost burying them underground in the Jakku burrows. Eventually, they managed to find a way out and a way back to their ship – only to find that sand had practically gotten into every orifice of the ship. It took a day of unclogging the door mechanisms before they could even open the ship’s doors, only to find out that the engines won’t turn.

Despite being one of the best mechanics, even Rey couldn’t fix everything. For almost a week, they spent practically all of their waking hours carrying out repairs. It was nearly finished now, but Rey discovered that one vital part of the engine was irreparably damaged. Fortunately, their communication systems are up and running, and Poe was able to report back to base, but it would still take three standard days for one of their fighters to bring the replacement part to Jakku. Until they get the part, they were stuck. 

A flurry of movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Turning his head to that direction, he saw Rey come out of the AT-AT, half-running, half-stumbling in the sand. “Rey?” he called out, not moving from where he was seated. Rey had been asleep inside when he went out.

Rey turned so quickly to sound of his voice, almost losing her balance. She rushed to where he was, stopping abruptly just before his feet, breathing hard. Poe was surprised to see a panicked look in her face, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “Rey, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice laced with concern, his arms reaching out for her. 

Her hands were cold and clammy as she gripped his tightly, as if holding onto a lifeline. He gave her a gentle tug. Rey sank to her knees, not letting go of his hands. She was still looking anxious, tears now falling freely down her cheeks. Poe sat up straighter and leaned forward, pulling her a bit more firmly to him. The action seemed to break the dam, and Rey collapsed into him, sobbing. 

He let go of her hands so he can put his arms around her. She settled on the space between his knees, burying her face on his chest. He simply held her, softly whispering her name over and over, until she slowly calmed down. He’d never seen her this upset, and he had absolutely no inkling as to what she could possibly be upset about. He continued holding her until she was no longer wracked with sobs.

“I’m so sorry, Poe,” she said softly, not lifting her head from his chest. “When I woke up, I thought it was all a dream – the Force, Luke, Kylo Ren, Finn, the Resistance, you. I thought all of it was a dream, and that I never really left Jakku.” She raised her head up to look at him. He saw despair in her eyes. “For a moment there, I thought none of it was real.”

“Oh, Rey,” Poe felt his heart sink when he realized how easy it must have been for Rey to think that when she woke up alone in her old home. “I’m sorry, I just went out to get some fresh air, I couldn’t sleep.”

Rey twisted in his arms until her back was resting comfortably against his chest. Poe kept his arms around her, and she laced her fingers over his. She pulled his arms tighter around herself. They sat in silence, Rey finding comfort in the rhythmic movement of his breathing. 

“I really thought it wasn’t real,” Rey said softly. She shivered, remembering how devastated she had felt. “I wanted so much for me to be wrong; I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as badly as I did for me to be wrong. ”

“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you were wrong,” Poe remarked, purposely making his tone light. “It wasn’t a dream, and while many believe that I am quite dreamy, I’m afraid I’m the real thing.”

Rey couldn’t stop herself from emitting a small chuckle. “That you are,” Rey craned her neck to look at him. Her face turned serious again, her eyes filling with tears again. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if it turned out to be only a dream. If you were only a dream.”

Poe’s breath hitched as he met her eyes. He had never seen Rey as vulnerable as she was now. He silently berated himself for stepping out as she slept, and vowed never again to make that mistake. A tear slowly escaped from her eye, and without thinking, Poe leaned down and followed the track of the tear with his lips, lingering on the corner of her mouth. Rey shifted ever so slightly, capturing his lips with her own. He let her take the lead with the kiss, more than happy to let her lips play with his. It wasn’t their first kiss, but it was perhaps their most intimate one yet. 

Poe reluctantly pulled back when he felt Rey shiver. “Kriff, I’m sorry, Rey, you must be getting cold.”

Rey knew it wasn’t the cold that was making her shiver. She pulled him back for another kiss. “Maybe you should warm me up,” she said shyly as she finally broke away from him. Poe smiled, thankful she was starting to sound more like her usual self. He followed her as she stood up. They hastily brushed sand off their clothes before making their way back into the belly of the fallen AT-AT. 

Just before entering, Rey stopped abruptly and faced him. She reached up and fondly brushed his hair away from his face. Despite her gentle gesture, there was something fierce in her eyes. “You’re real, I know that,” she declared, her voice thick with emotion. “But right now I need to feel that. I need to feel how real this all is, Poe. I need you…”

Poe’s lips settling on hers cut off the rest of her sentence, his intensity promising to give her what she demands. He’ll give her anything she asks, that he knows. They were all alone out here, with no one to interrupt them, and no one to judge them. He knew all too well how such loneliness can intensify other emotions, and he himself had been fighting with his – the exact reason why he couldn’t sleep and had to put some distance between him and Rey. They’d never gone beyond kissing, but the kisses have been getting more intense, the touches more intimate. While it was nearly driving him mad not to let it go farther, he nevertheless doesn’t pursue it, not until he knows for sure it was also what she wanted and that she was ready for it.

She welcomed his touch now, and kissed him back with the same fervor. It wasn’t long before both were breathless, and even being pressed against each other wasn’t enough. With superhuman strength, Poe pulled back from Rey, wanting to be sure she knows where this was headed, and that it was what she wanted. They had a good thing going, and the last thing he wanted was to ruin it by giving in to desires of the flesh.

“Stop holding back, Poe,” Rey whispered. “Stop treating me with kid gloves. What’s stopping you?”

“You,” Poe replied, resting his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. “You are the best thing that’s happened to me, and I don’t want to ruin what we have…”

“How in kriffing hells will moving forward destroy anything?” Rey interrupted.

Poe locked his eyes on hers, allowing her to see how badly he wanted her. “There’s no going back after this, Rey,” he said seriously. “We can’t go back to how we were if we do this – at least, I know I can’t.”

“I don’t think I can either,” Rey whispered. “What we have is good, but I don’t think that’s all we were meant to be to each other. I want you, Poe, not in the way I want Finn, or Rose, or anyone else. Besides, I’m already too far gone – it’s like you’re already a part of me. That was why I was so devastated when I woke up and thought it might’ve been just a dream.” She laid a hand on his chest, over his heart. “You saw my doll – I could’ve made that a Prince Charming, or a knight in shining armor, but something told me then to make it a brave Rebel pilot. I used to pretend that one day, that pilot will come into my life and make everything right. You have no idea how much that dream fueled me to carry on.” Her breath hitched, and the gravity of what she was saying made him tighten his embrace around her. “I’ve been waiting for you all my life, Poe. I know our situation here is far from ideal, but, I know I’ll be all right because I’m with you.”

He couldn’t help but kiss her after hearing that. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. He thanked the Force that she treasured him that much, and he wanted to tell her that she meant just as much and so much more to him. That she was it for him, which was why he was willing to wait for as long as it takes, and why he would do anything not to ruin what they had. He wanted to tell her all that, but his brain decided to choose that very moment to disengage with his heart, and he couldn’t form a coherent sentence to save his life. And so he poured everything into the kiss, holding her as close as he could, and letting his body do the talking.

She responded with the same fervor, clearly getting the message. Her fingers tangled with his hair, her body collapsing against his, willingly surrendering to him, trusting him fully. The universe brought them together and she was ready to seal her fate with him. She pulled back only to look in his eyes, walls down and baring all her feelings to him.

“You’re sure about this,” Poe whispered, neither a question nor a statement. 

“Just carry on, Commander,” Rey whispered back, without a trace of uncertainty. “I’m all yours, Poe.”

He did not need any more encouragement after that. Gathering her in his arms, he decided to follow her lead and stop resisting the forces that brought them together. As they became one that night, both felt an undeniable completeness of being. Their parallel journey had ended, because from that point forward, they were finally one with each other, united for the rest of their journey.

**Author's Note:**

> I started Damerey Week in Jakku, so I thought it'd be fitting to end it in Jakku. This work was a compressed form of a longer explicit multi-chapter WIP of Poe and Rey's adventures in Jakku. If there's enough interest in that, I might post it once I've polished it a bit more. Please let me know what you think.
> 
> Anyways, thank you to all those who read the stuff I posted for Damerey Week, especially to those who bookmarked, left kudos and comments. Cheers also to the brains behind Damerey Week, it was a challenge (I've only started writing fanfiction a couple of months ago, and have only dabbled with Damerey) and a pleasure to participate in this endeavor. I love, love, love this ship already, and Damerey Week just made me ship it more :)


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